Summit 2025
The 11th European Values Summit Takes Place in Prague
Between November 5 and 6, the 11th annual European Values Summit took place in Prague. Over 150 participants were able to engage with more than 30 experts during ten main panels and side sessions. Czech President Petr Pavel opened this year’s conference, congratulating the European Values Center for Security Policy on its 20th anniversary and thanked its team for their work in defending liberal democracy, connecting Czech and international experts, and producing impactful analyses and policy recommendations. In his speech, President Pavel warned of threats to our democratic values originating both outside and within our borders and recalled the overarching theme of this year’s summit, which was the interconnectedness of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions, from prosperity to security. He also acknowledged the unique role of EVC, which is the only European think tank with a permanent presence in Taiwan. Jakub Janda, EVC Executive Director, emphasized the need for cooperation between democracies at a time when authoritarian powers are also conspicuously building up their cooperation.
This year’s summit explored six main topics, including hybrid threats, information space resilience, technological governance, economic security, and the Women, Peace, and Security agenda.
The Summit’s agenda featured the following panels:
PANEL 1: Treacherous Waters of the Taiwan Strait: Multilevel Responses to Multilevel Shocks
PANEL 2A: Safeguarding Information Integrity in East Asia and Central Eastern Europe
PANEL 2B: Defining Resilience: Seeking Course Correction in Times of Geopolitical and Social Upheaval
PANEL 3A: Technology Security and Good Governance: Towards an Equilibrium?
PANEL 3B: Principled Pragmatism in Action? The Global Gateway Initiative in the Indo-Pacific
PANEL 4A: Women, Peace, and Security Agenda(s): An Inter-Theater Approach
PANEL 4B: Two Regions, One Theater? Examining Shared Challenges in Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Theaters
OPENING KEYNOTE SPEECH
H.E. PETR PAVEL, President of the Czech Republic
PANEL 1
TREACHEROUS WATERS OF THE TAIWAN STRAIT: MULTILEVEL RESPONSES TO MULTILEVEL SHOCKS
Moderator: Marcin Jerzewski (European Values Center for Security Policy Taiwan Office)
Panelists:
- Reinhard Bütikofer (German-Taiwanese Dialogue Platform)
- William Hurst (Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge)
- Chyungly Lee (Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University)
- Cédric Alviani (Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific Bureau)
The panel explored the “multi-level shocks” confronting Taiwan, including domestic polarization, the PRC’s gray-zone tactics, and shifting global power dynamics. Dr. Lee outlined Taiwan’s evolving strategic posture — a transition from a focus on “deterrence” toward “resilience” and “integration.” This novel approach combines asymmetrical defense with high-tech integrated diplomacy to enhance self-reliance and adaptability. Subsequently, Mr. Bütikofer contextualized this transformation within Europe’s changing perception of Taiwan, which he described as evolving “from an asterisk to a partner.” He attributed this shift to both, China’s increasingly “aggressive revisionism” and Taiwan’s growing international contributions. He warned that China’s “war of conquest,” waged through cognitive warfare and lawfare, is already underway — making a proactive “salami defense strategy” essential as relying on passive deterrence is no longer sufficient. Mr. Alviani highlighted Taiwan’s media environment as a major “structural weakness” and “backdoor” for disinformation, noting that local media often prioritize “political expression” over “factual reporting.” In contrast, Dr. Hurst described the cross-strait situation as a “basically stable” 75-year-long “static dynamic” characterized by “costly signaling.” He argued that China’s immediate objective is economic disruption through blockades rather than invasion, dismissed the “2027 deadline” as overhyped, and identified U.S. inconsistency as the greatest external risk to stability.
PANEL 2A
SAFEGUARDING INFORMATION INTEGRITY IN EAST ASIA AND CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE
Moderator: Zuzana Košková (European Values Center for Security Policy)
Panelists:
- Kyoko Kuwahara (Japan Nexus Intelligence)
- Pavol Szalai (Reporters Without Borders Prague Bureau)
- Dren Gërguri (University of Pristina)
- Isis M. Lee (Radio Taiwan International)
This session underscored shared vulnerabilities across East Asia and Central and Eastern Europe to foreign disinformation campaigns that aim to erode trust and foster public fatigue. In. his intervention, Dr. Gërguri focused on Kosovo’s exposure to Russian and Chinese narratives that portray the collective West as “hypocritical,” while Ms. Kuwahara detailed how Chinese state media amplifies secessionist themes such as “Okinawan Independence” in Japan. Speaking from a Taiwanese perspective, Ms. Lee emphasized the asymmetry of the information battlefield, noting that authoritarian state media resources are “at least ten times greater” than those of democratic states, where public media investment continues to decline globally. Both Ms. Kuwahara and Mr. Szalai criticized existing countermeasures as insufficient — Japan’s response being “too reactive,” and European-style fact-checking likened to “emptying the ocean with a spoon.” Panelists instead advocated proactive, systemic reforms. Ms. Lee and Mr. Szalai highlighted the importance of trust-building mechanisms such as the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI), while Ms. Kuwahara called for a shift toward proactive pre-bunking rather than reactive debunking. Additionally, Dr. Gërguri stressed the urgent need for building cross-generational AI literacy, while Mr. Szalai urged regulatory requirements for digital platforms to grant “due prominence” to reliable journalism.
PANEL 2B
DEFINING RESILIENCE: SEEKING COURSE CORRECTION IN TIMES OF GEOPOLITICAL AND SOCIAL UPHEAVAL
Moderator: Ondřej Málek (European Values Center for Security Policy)
Panelists:
- Jaap Van Etten (Datenna)
- Tomáš Kopečný (Czech Governmental Envoy for the Reconstruction of Ukraine)
- Jinah Kwon (University of Sheffield)
High-income economies in Europe and East Asia currently face a multitude of crises, ranging from geopolitical instability amid the rise of the anti-Western axis of autocracies to economic uncertainty and growing polarization. In response to these challenges, resilience has emerged as an increasingly popular and seemingly all-encompassing term to capture multiple ongoing quests for positive systemic adaptation. To operationalize this term, this panel discussion explored three dimensions of the concept: data, economic, and social resilience. Data resilience aims to address the strategic vulnerabilities of global digital infrastructures, which can in turn undermine the autonomy and integrity of our scientific and decision-making systems. Economic resilience should be a response to the rise of economic statecraft in the international system and the growing prominence of the security logic in foreign policymaking over the logic of trade. Last but not least, social resilience refers to efforts to overcome the challenges of polarization and foster productive dialogue over existing social cleavages. Overall, the three speakers effectively explored these distinct albeit interconnected dimensions of resilience, a framework for guiding our responses at the nexus of systemic shocks.
LUNCH PRESENTATION
ARE BRUSSELS’ DEMOCRATIC SECURITY POLICIES FIT FOR THE 2029 EU ELECTIONS?
Moderator: Marcin Jerzewski (European Values Center for Security Policy Taiwan Office & Visegrad Insight)
Panelists:
- Luboš Palata (Journalist, political commentator and poet)
- Jan Marian (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic)
This luncheon debate sought to explore how the EU can balance the need to fortify its democratic foundations with addressing pressing defense requirements. Drawing on Visegrad Insight’s 2025 foresight report Democracies at War, War on Democracies, it sought to mobilize Czech perspectives to critically evaluate the current state of implementation and future utility of flagship initiatives such as the European Democracy Shield, the EU Preparedness Union Strategy and the Civil Society Strategy. Luboš Palata’s big concern were the possible challenges to the operations of public media under the new the Babiš government, a step taken by other authoritarian leaders in the EU, namely Victor Orbán and Robert Fico. Palata was skeptical of the new Czech government and “anachronistic” EU institutions, stressing the need of the democracies to reunite under a possibly new union, composed only of the likeminded countries. In such manner, Palata questioned the purposefulness of EU enlargement – provocatively comparing it to “honeymoon-like naïveté” when spouses do not consider a possible divorce. Palata was also concerned about the insufficient scope and effectiveness of initiatives such as the European Democracy Shield, and the lack of hard jurisdictional tools which the EU could use to apply pressure on countries cooperating with Russia, with whom “Europe has been at war for more than 10 years”. The journalist called on Europeans to “wake up from our dream and see the reality of the Putin’s war” which affects us all. Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Marian was somewhat more optimistic, highlighting the successful democratic transition and consolidation in Czechia which rests on the foundation of strong democratic institutions. He also stressed the need for maintaining strong ties with allied neighbors such as Poland and Germany, as well as the more effective cooperation within NATO, the EU and other similar formats to boost Czechia’s resilience in light of Russian aggression. Deputy Minister Marian called for a paradigm shift which would assign greater importance to the coalitions of the willing rather than institutions of the EU at large. At the same time, he continues to advocate for enlargement of the union. Regarding the issue of declining trust in institutions among EU citizens, he called for optimization of strategic communication and citizenship education, so the public can be convinced that member states do not forfeit their agency as actors in the process of European integration.
PANEL 3A
TECHNOLOGY SECURITY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE: TOWARDS AN EQUILIBRIUM?
Moderator: Ria Orca (Center for International Private Enterprise)
Panelists:
- Valentin Weber (DGAP)
- Anton Rizki (Center for Indonesian Policy Studies)
- Nan Lwin Yadanar Aung (The ISP-Maynmar)
- Try Thy (Open Development Cambodia)
The aim of this panel was to examine how China and its involvement in international development projects affects Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on Indonesia, Myanmar, and Cambodia. The panelists concurred that excessive reliance on imports of modern Chinese technologies poses a security threat to the entire region. China is involved in government-supported projects that lack sufficient transparency. The spread of Beijing’s tech authoritarianism also aids local governments in implementing technologies designed to surveil the population and monitor their activities on the internet. In addition, telecommunications companies are forced to provide user data to the government. At the same time, China is establishing economic zones and so-called Smart Cities across Southeast Asia, which further expand the possibilities for monitoring the population, not only by local governments, but also by China itself. One of the main rationales behind some countries’ cooperation with Beijing, despite affording the foreign country access to sensitive data about their citizens, are the extremely favorable conditions that China offers. Given vast development challenges, these countries often cannot afford to cooperate with other partners.
PANEL 3B
PRINCIPLED PRAGMATISM IN ACTION? THE GLOBAL GATEWAY INITIATIVE IN THE INDO-PACIFIC
Moderator: Marcin Jerzewski (European Values Center for Security Policy Taiwan Office)
Panelists:
- Olimpia Kot (European Values Center for Security Policy Taiwan Office)
- Zuzana Krulichová (Charles University, Europeum)
- Jacob Mardell (Sinification)
The discussion explored the challenges and opportunities of implementing the EU’s Global Gateway (GG) initiative, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. To set the stage for further discussion, Olimpia Kot highlighted key findings from the EVC Taiwan Office report Chasing Convergence: The EU’s Partnerships in the Indo-Pacific and Implementation of the GG Initiative, commissioned by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Multinational Development Policy Develiopment program. Informed by the cases of Vietnam and Fiji, she noted that fragmented governance, complex administrative procedures, and limited capacity in recipient countries make implementation difficult, while China’s direct engagement with local communities gives it a clear advantage. Jerzewski highlighted Japan as the EU’s most developed GG partner, referencing the 2019 Connectivity Partnership and practical cooperation such as a joint hydroelectric project in Bác Ái, Vietnam. Mardell argued that although the GG is not officially branded as a counterweight to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it was created in response to it, and yet it continues to suffer from weak communication and visibility compared to China’s strategic narrative. Last but not least, Dr. Krulichová noted that while smaller EU and Central European countries view GG to engage with like-minded Indo-Pacific partners, they often lack the capacity to implement projects or even understand the initiative’s mechanisms. also underscored the need to involve civil society and local actors to ensure inclusivity and contextual awareness. In the Q&A, participants averred that the GG risks losing strategic direction due to insufficient leadership from EU member states, limited media visibility, and overly rigid project rules, despite its potential for trusted connectivity projects with partners such as Japan and Taiwan.
PANEL 4A
WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY AGENDA(S): AN INTER-THEATER APPROACH
Moderator: Olimpia Kot (European Values Center for Security Policy Taiwan Office)
Panelists:
- Hsiu-Hua Shen (National Tsing Hua University)
- Minjoung Park (Korea National Diplomatic Academy)
- Signe Gilen (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Norway)
The panel “Women, Peace and Security Agendas: An Inter-Theatre Approach,” moderated by Olympia Kot, explored the implementation of the WPS agendas across Europe and East Asia, highlighting regional differences, challenges, and opportunities for cross-regional cooperation. The discussion acknowledged this year’s 25th anniversary of the UN Resolution 1325, which put initially operationalized the agenda. Signe Gilen emphasized the historical foundations of WPS agenda in the UN system, Norway’s integrated approach to gender mainstreaming across ministries, and the importance of embedding women in decision-making to strengthen societal resilience. Yet, she also noted persistent institutional barriers and unconscious bias within military and bureaucratic structures. Dr. Min-Joung Park discussed the Republic of Korea’s WPS National Action Plan, shaped by the division of the Korean peninsula and Seoul’s domestic security concerns. She explained that in the Korean context, the WPS agenda focuses on inter-Korean cooperation, support for women defectors, and gender-focused aid projects, though many objectives remain unfulfilled due to stalled dialogue with Pyongyang. Dr. Hsiu-Hua Shen highlighted Taiwan’s need to develop WPS approaches independently from the UN framework by integrating feminist perspectives into civil defense, migration issues, and everyday societal resilience, highlighting that NGOs will need to play a crucial role in advancing gender inclusion in the absence of formal state mechanisms. Across regions, panelists underscored the necessity of measurable indicators, intersectional approaches, and inclusion of women in both policy and practice to prevent WPS from remaining symbolic. Key takeaways emphasized that effective WPS requires locally grounded, inclusive, and data-informed strategies, supported by strong civil-society engagement, academic research, and cross-regional collaboration to enhance democratic resilience and security.
PANEL 4B
TWO REGIONS, ONE THEATER? EXAMINING SHARED CHALLENGES IN EURO-ATLANTIC AND INDO-PACIFIC THEATERS
Moderator: Léonie Allard (Atlantic Council)
Panelists:
- Thorsten Geissler (Atlantic Club of Bulgaria)
- Yuka Kobayashi (School of Oriental and African Studies)
- Sungwon Lee (Sejong Institute)
This panel explored how the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions are increasingly interconnected by shared security challenges despite their geographic distance. Geissler argued that the traditional separation of the two regions no longer reflects reality, noting that China, North Korea, and Iran’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine demonstrates the interdependence of security between Europe and East Asia. He warned that U.S. strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific could leave Europe vulnerable, urging deeper transatlantic and Euro-Asian cooperation alongside a pragmatic détente with strategic rivals. Dr. Lee emphasized that Europe’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific will remain limited due to constrained capacities, while stressing the growing importance of cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Central and Eastern Europe in areas including cybersecurity, space, and defense. He also highlighted that North Korea’s backing of Russia makes the European conflict directly relevant to Korean security. Dr. Kobayashi examined the blurred lines between the two regions and questioned what “shared values” truly mean amid internal European divisions, pointing to Japan–Germany cooperation and the growing dominance of China and Russia in hybrid and technological domains. In the Q&A, panelists agreed that while Europe retains vast soft power, it lacks hard power, though recent efforts in defense industrial coordination mark a long-overdue shift in policy planning. They debated the feasibility of a unified European intelligence agency, with consensus leaning toward enhancing interoperability among existing services. They also underscored that even symbolic European naval deployments in the Indo-Pacific have value for local partners as signals of democratic solidarity in a region otherwise dominated by China’s authoritarian influence.
Side Session 1
DEMOCRACIES AT WAR. WAR ON DEMOCRACIES. EU VALUES FORESIGHT FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
Speaker: Wojciech Przybylski (Visegrad Insight, Res Publica Foundation)
During this foresight session, Wojciech Przybylski presented Visegrad Insight’s latest report titled Democracy at War. War Against Democracies, and outlined four major scenarios as a powerful framework for reimagining how Europe can protect democracy while strengthening its collective resilience and global influence. The key takeaway from our lively discussion was that Europe’s strength lies not just in its armies, but in its active civil societies – from Ukraine to the Baltics and to Poland – proving that democracy itself is a form of defense.
The war in Europe cannot be understood solely as an external event that leads selected democratic partners to support Ukraine, but also as deliberate subversive activity from within, directed against all EU democracies and the collective structure of the Union. To effectively counter democratic backsliding and rising authoritarian tendencies in complex security environments, civil society organizations (CSOs) across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) require flexible, emergency, and core funding schemes with simplified rules and sources of support that are independent of government influence. Establishing CERV contact points in all EU Member States would help streamline access to such support. A key recommendation is to significantly increase funding for the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) program in the 2027–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework to strengthen democratic security policies, particularly new initiatives introduced by the current European Commission. Additionally, appointing a European Commissioner or Special Representative for Civil Society and creating an “Alarm Platform” for actors at risk would provide essential institutional backing. Regarding the European Democracy Shield (EUDS), the recommendations emphasize investing in artificial intelligence to counter foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), reinforcing state institutions through proper mandates and training, and ensuring that the Digital Services Act (DSA) is applied to hold online platforms accountable for curbing FIMI actors. Furthermore, civic education should be embedded in national defense strategies, while EU resilience hubs should be established to share resources, exchange best practices, and coordinate responses against the hostile takeover of democratic processes.
Side Session 2
TRACKING THE SPREAD OF RUSSIAN AND CHINESE PROPAGANDA MEDIA MODELS
Moderator: Marcin Jerzewski (European Values Center for Security Policy)
Panelists:
- Cédric Alviani (Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific Bureau)
- Pavol Szalai (Reporters Without Borders Prague Bureau)
- Aleksandra Bielakowska (Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific Bureau)
- Filip Noubel (Global Voices)
The main objective of this session was to compare and contrast tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) of Russian and Chinese state propaganda. The event was centered around Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) Propaganda Monitor — an investigative project by RSF to expose the geopolitics of propaganda.
Aleksandra Bielakowska pointed out that in democratic countries, legal safeguards of media freedom ensure journalistic independence and pluralism, but in consequence, they also create spaces for Russian and Chinese broadcasters to spread their propaganda within EU. This asymmetry leads to a strategic disadvantage of democratic countries. Bielakowska also elaborated on innovation in state-sponsored propaganda systems that includes the use of AI, recruitment of the so-called content creator and influencers, and cooperation in spreading joint narratives between Russia and China.
Pavol Szalai focused squarely on Kremlin’s propaganda, highlighting that techniques of information operations are widely taught in the journalist schools. Moscow employs not only the state media to spread its narratives, but also engages military influencers as well as information contractors and paid influencers. To protect EU from those distorted narratives, Szalai proposed a new regulatory framework as well as advocated investments in supporting journalists in exile and democratic large-language models.
Filip Noubel provided insights into Chinese growing presence in Africa. Chinese investments bringing real progress in terms of development, but these tangible engagements, paired with anti-colonial solidarity and anti-Western narratives provide fertile ground for the dissemination of propaganda narratives. He explained that Chinese media offer higher compensation to journalists than local outlets media, and proliferation of TikTok as the platform of choice among African youth makes Chinese narratives dominant in the information space. Notably, he commented on the withdrawal of European mainstream media from the African space which hinders our ability to provide alternative perspectives to the propaganda spread by Beijing and Moscow.
Crisis Simulation
The accompanying program concluded with a four-hour crisis simulation of a dual escalation in Eastern Europe and the Indo-Pacific, aimed at predicting the development of the security situation in both regions and identifying shared security challenges and vulnerabilities among like-minded democratic allies.
LIST OF SPEAKERS
Main Business Intelligence Partner
Partners
The Conference receives financial support from the European Parliament. Sole liability rests with the organiser, the European Parliament is not responsible for the activitiy.
TECH.RISK (Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, IMPAKT 1, no. VJ03030025)